Wending our way along the Wendover Arm; a fishy story; and more bloggers

As we had time in hand I decided we'd "do" the Wendover Arm, or that part of it which has been restored so far. As soon as we turned left at Bulbourne Junction it was as if we were in a completely different part of the country. The canal was narrow and shallow, especially as the Tring Summit, to which it connects, is still about a foot down. As I steered along, at low speed, a large fish swam alongside for a few seconds. There was a section reminiscent of the Ashby Canal (only not as deep) where gardens backed onto it. And then came a surprise: Heygates Flour Mill (formerly Tring Flour Mill), still operating. This was soon passed, and we were in open farmland. At the end was a large winding hole, but we went as far as we could before reversing and winding. Above us soared a large bird of prey: a boater told us it was a red kite. And nearing the start of the arm that same large fish swam alongside. I found a really good website about the Wendover Arm here.

Turning left out of the Wendover Arm brought us immediately to the top of the Marsworth Locks. We had to wait for two boats whose crews had set the lock, and then we were in. We shared with nb Sunset. It turned out that the skipper was none other than the national chairman of the IWA, Les Etheridge, on his way back from the festival like us. I was in full lock wheeling mode and hardly got a chance to talk to him, but Jan did, and was very diplomatic when asked - before she knew who he was - what she thought of the festival!

After a couple of rain showers, and after a lot more locks, we came to Linslade where we visited Tesco and Aldi.

Continuing towards the Three Locks I saw a boat I instantly recognised: Derwent 6, with Del and Al sitting in the front. We pulled in and joined them for drinks on their boat, before they came over to Jubilee to join us for the meal which Jan had just started cooking. It was excellent to see them again - the last time was years ago on the thawing Leicester Section.

In order to save a bit more time tomorrow we moved on in the last little bit of daylight, tying up just before the Three Locks.